# Bojan Veličković

Bojan Veličković (Serbian: Бојан Величковић; born December 18, 1988) is a Serbian mixed martial artist and sambist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for the UFC, Professional Fighters League, and RFA, where he was the Welterweight Champion. Currently, He competes in Oktagon MMA, where he won the 16-men Oktagon MMA Welterweight Tournament.

## Background

Born and raised in Novi Sad, Serbia, Veličković began training in judo at the age of ten, before transitioning to Muay Thai at 14. Then at the age of 22, he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts. In Muay Thai, Veličković holds a record of 14–2.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

Veličković was a gold medalist in amateur MMA at the FILA World Wrestling Federation before making his professional debut in 2010 as part of the "Road to the Ring of Fire" reality show. Veličković won all four fights and the show. He then began competing for the Tesla Fighting Championship in his native Serbia, where he was also Welterweight champion.

### Resurrection Fighting Alliance

After compiling a professional record of 9–2, Veličković signed with the promotion in 2014. After losing his promotional debut to former UFC competitor and Ultimate Fighter Season 17 contestant Gilbert Smith, he won his next four fights with the promotion, capturing the Welterweight Championship in his final fight before signing with the UFC.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Veličković signed with the UFC after compiling a record of 13–3 first and relocating to Colorado.
Veličković made his promotional debut against Alessio Di Chirico on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86. He won the fight via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27).
Veličković next faced Michael Graves on July 30, 2016, at UFC 201. The bout was declared a majority draw.
Veličković faced Sultan Aliev on December 17, 2016, at UFC on Fox 22. He lost the fight via split decision.
Veličković faced Nico Musoke on May 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 109. He won the fight by knockout in the third round. This win also earned Veličković his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
Veličković fought Darren Till on September 2, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Struve vs. Volkov, losing the bout in a unanimous decision.
Veličković faced Jake Matthews on November 19, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 121. He lost the fight via split decision, and was subsequently released from the promotion.

### PFL

After the release from the UFC, Veličković signed with Professional Fighters League, participating the inaugural season's welterweight bracket. He advanced from the regular season to quarterfinals where he eventually was eliminated, but was brought back to semifinals due to an injury of Abubakar Nurmagomedov. He lost the semifinal bout against Magomed Magomedkerimov via second round knockout.
Veličković also participated in the 2019 season of the Professional Fighters League, ending up losing both of his regular season bouts and not advancing to the playoffs.

### Post-PFL career

Veličković was expected to face Escley Araujo at Serbian Battle Championship 27 on March 14, 2020. However, Araujo withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Danillo Santos. Veličković won the fight via second-round submission.
Veličković then challenged Vladislav Kanchev for the SBC Welterweight Championship at Serbian Battle Championship 29 on November 7, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

#### Oktagon MMA

As the first bout of his three-fight contract with Oktagon MMA, Veličković faced Emmanuel Dawa at Oktagon 25 on June 19, 2021. He won the fight via technical knockout after the first round.
In his sophomore appearance he faced Carlo Prater at Oktagon 27 on September 11, 2021. He won the fight via first-round technical knockout.
Veličković faced David Kozma for the Oktagon MMA Welterweight Championship on December 4, 2021, at Oktagon 29. He lost the bout via TKO in the 4th round.
Veličković faced Máté Kertész on March 26, 2022, at Oktagon Prime 5. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Veličković faced Leandro Silva on October 15, 2022, at Oktagon 36. He lost the bout via split decision.
Veličković faced Ion Surdu on March 4, 2023, at Oktagon 40 in the Oktagon Welterweight Tournament Round of 16, winning bout via the anaconda choke in the first round.
In the Quarterfinals, Veličković faced Christian Jungwirth on June 17, 2023, at Oktagon 44, winning the bout and advancing via unanimous decision.
The semi-finals saw Veličković face David Kozma on September 16, 2023, at Oktagon 46, knocking him out in the first round.
In the finals, Veličković faced Andreas Michailidis on December 29, 2023, submitting him in the third round via rear-naked choke to win the 300 thousand euro prize for winning the tournament.

## Championships and accomplishments

* Oktagon MMA
** 2023 Oktagon Welterweight Tournament
* Resurrection Fighting Alliance
** Welterweight Champion
* Tesla Fighting Championship
** Middleweight Champion
* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Nico Musoke
* Serbian Battle Championship
** SBC Welterweight Championship (one time; current)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 39 matches | 25 wins | 12 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 2 |
| By submission | 11 | 0 |
| By decision | 6 | 10 |
| Draws | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 25–12–2 | Andreas Michailidis | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Oktagon 51 | December 29, 2023 | 3 | 3:21 | Prague, Czech Republic | Won the Oktagon Welterweight Tournament. |
| Win | 24–12–2 | David Kozma | KO (punches) | Oktagon 46 | September 16, 2023 | 1 | 3:45 | Frankfurt, Germany | Oktagon Welterweight Tournament Semifinal. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 23–12–2 | Christian Jungwirth | Decision (unanimous) | Oktagon 44 | June 17, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Oberhausen, Germany | Oktagon Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 22–12–2 | Ion Surdu | Submission (anaconda choke) | Oktagon 40 | March 4, 2023 | 1 | 2:55 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | Oktagon Welterweight Tournament Round of 16. Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 21–12–2 | Leandro Silva | Decision (split) | Oktagon 36 | October 15, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Frankfurt, Germany | |
| Win | 21–11–2 | Máté Kertész | Decision (unanimous) | Oktaon Prime 5 | March 26, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Samorin, Slovakia | |
| Loss | 20–11–2 | David Kozma | TKO (punches) | Oktagon 29 | December 4, 2021 | 4 | 3:16 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | For the Oktagon Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 20–10–2 | Carlo Prater | TKO (punches) | Oktagon 27 | September 11, 2021 | 1 | 2:44 | Bratislava, Slovakia | |
| Win | 19–10–2 | Emmanuel Dawa | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Oktagon 25 | June 19, 2021 | 1 | 5:00 | Brno, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 18–10–2 | Vladislav Kanchev | Decision (unanimous) | Serbian Battle Championship 29 | October 7, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Novi Sad, Serbia | Won the SBC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 17–10–2 | Danillo Santos | Submission (guillotine choke) | Serbian Battle Championship 27 | March 14, 2020 | 2 | 0:59 | Vrbas, Serbia | |
| Loss | 16–10–2 | João Zeferino | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 4 (2019) | July 11, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 16–9–2 | Handesson Ferreira | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 1 (2019) | May 9, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Uniondale, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 16–8–2 | Magomed Magomedkerimov | TKO (punches) | PFL 10 (2018) | October 20, 2018 | 2 | 3:13 | Washington, D.C., United States | 2018 PFL Welterweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Draw | 16–7–2 | Abubakar Nurmagomedov | Draw (unanimous) | PFL 10 (2018) | October 20, 2018 | 2 | 5:00 | Washington, D.C., United States | 2018 PFL Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal. Eliminated via first round tiebreaker. |
| Loss | 16–7–1 | Magomed Magomedkerimov | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 6 (2018) | August 16, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 16–6–1 | Jonatan Westin | TKO (punches) | PFL 3 (2018) | July 5, 2018 | 2 | 2:50 | Washington, D.C., United States | |
| Loss | 15–6–1 | Jake Matthews | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura | November 19, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Loss | 15–5–1 | Darren Till | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve | September 2, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | |
| Win | 15–4–1 | Nico Musoke | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira | May 28, 2017 | 3 | 4:37 | Stockholm, Sweden | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 14–4–1 | Sultan Aliev | Decision (split) | UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson | December 17, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Draw | 14–3–1 | Michael Graves | Draw (majority) | UFC 201 | July 30, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 14–3 | Alessio Di Chirico | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos | April 10, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | Middleweight bout. |
| Win | 13–3 | Benjamin Smith | Submission (guillotine choke) | RFA 34 | January 15, 2016 | 3 | 1:51 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Won the vacant RFA Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–3 | Vardan Sholinian | Decision (unanimous) | RFA 31 | October 9, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (175 lb) bout. |
| Win | 11–3 | Charles Byrd | Decision (unanimous) | RFA vs. Legacy FC 1 | May 8, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Robinsonville, Mississippi, United States | |
| Win | 10–3 | Chris Hugh | TKO (punches) | RFA 24 | March 6, 2015 | 1 | 4:40 | Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States | |
| Loss | 9–3 | Gilbert Smith | Decision (majority) | RFA 20 | November 7, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Welterweight debut. |
| Win | 9–2 | Nikolay Aleksakhin | Submission (guillotine choke) | Tesla FC 4 | June 14, 2014 | 2 | 2:35 | Pančevo, Serbia | Won the Tesla FC Middleweight Championship. |
| Loss | 8–2 | Krzysztof Jotko | Decision (majority) | MMA Attack 3 | April 27, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Katowice, Poland | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 8–1 | Tomáš Kužela | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Heroes Gate 9 | December 28, 2012 | 2 | N/A | Prague, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 7–1 | Jiří Procházka | TKO (punches) | Supreme FC 1 | December 9, 2012 | 1 | N/A | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Loss | 6–1 | Svetlozar Savov | Decision (split) | World Freefight Challenge 17 | October 21, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | For the WFC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 6–0 | Marko Lukačić | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Tesla FC 2 | December 24, 2011 | 1 | N/A | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Win | 5–0 | Jason Lee | KO (punches) | Ring of Fire 41 | August 20, 2011 | 1 | 1:39 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Nemanja Uverić | Submission (guillotine choke) | Tesla FC 1 | June 19, 2011 | 2 | N/A | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Svetislav Nikolajev | Submission (armbar) | Tesla FC 1 | June 19, 2011 | 2 | N/A | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Marko Ignjatović | Submission (heel hook) | Ring of Fire Europe 2/3 | August 28, 2010 | 1 | 2:57 | Subotica, Serbia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Vladimir Jovanović | Submission (armbar) | Ring of Fire Europe 2/3 | August 28, 2010 | 1 | 3:59 | Subotica, Serbia | Middleweight debut. |